Wire-unwinding device

ABSTRACT

A device for longitudinally unwinding a metal or partially metal wire from a supply reel which is comprised of a central core portion and a pair of flanges at each end thereof, the wire being wound to form a wire parcel about the core between the flanges. The surface of at least one of the flanges which is adjacent the wire parcel has a portion thereof of gradually decreasing radial dimension in a direction opposite to the longitudinal direction of unwinding thereby forming a conical surface extending over approximately 60 to 70 percent of said surface of the flange. This conical surface facilitates the unwinding of the wire without breaking.

United States Patent [|113,632,061

72 Inventor Antonius llendrikus Cornelis Roseboom 1,132,050 3/ 1915 Walsh 242/128 Venlo, Netherlands 1,478,364 12/1923 Clark et a1. 242/128 [21] Appl. No. 826,536 2,546,253 3/1951 Beauregard 242/1 18.4 [22] Filed May 21, 1969 3,388,877 6/1968 Lauen et al. 242/118.4 Patented 333 f FOREIGN PATENTS [73] Assignee llpS orpora ion New York, NY. 54,113 9/1910 Switzerland 242/128 [32] Priority May 23, 1968 Primary ExaminerLeonard D. Christian [33] Netherlands Attorney-Frank R. Trifari [31] 6807316 ABSTRACT: A device for longitudinally unwinding a metal or [54] WlRE-UNWINDING DEVICE partially metal wire from a supply reel which is comprised of a 1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figs. central core portion and a pair of flanges at each end thereof, the wire being wound to form a wire parcel about the core [g2] (g1 B6 between the flanges The Surface of at least one of the flanges E 'g i 242,128 which is adjacent the wire parcel has a portion thereof of gradually decreasing radial dimension in a direction opposite 118A 28/34 35 to the longitudinal direction of unwinding thereby forming a [56] References Cited conical surface extending over approximately to per- UNITED STATES PATENTS cent of said surface of the flange. This conical surface facilitates the unwinding of the wire without breaking. 2,678,782 5/1954 Blair 242/140 5 PATENTEH JAN 4 m fig.4

fig.5

INVENTOR.

ANTONIUS H.C. ROSEBOOM AGEN J WIRE-UNWINDING DEVICE The invention relates to a device for longitudinally unwinding a wire consisting wholly or partly of metal from a supply reel which comprises a core portion and at least one flange portion, which device comprises at least one reel holder with supply reel and means for longitudinally removing the wore over the circumferential edge of the flange of the reel. Such devices are of course known.

In practice, the longitudinal unwinding of a wire, particularly a wire which consists entirely or partly of metal, imposes limits upon the ratios of the dimensions of the wire supply reels. It is common practice to use supply reels which are provided with flanges the surfaces of which face each other and extend at right angles to the axis of the reel. It is also common practice to choose the core diameter of the reel to be equal to at least half the outside flange diameter. With such a ratio the possibility that a wire will break upon unwinding in the area between the flange across which unwinding takes place the wire being rather loosely held thereagainst and the wire parcel is not very great. The likelihood of wire breakage becomes even smaller when the ratio between the diameter of the core portion and the diameter of the relative flange portion is made larger. A practical ratio is, for example, 0.65. A reel having this ratio however is only capable of carrying a small amount of wire.

It is the object of the invention to provide a device which is suitable for longitudinally unwinding wire from reels in which, a substantial increase in wire carrying effective capability is obtained without increasing the distance between flanges, and without decreasing the ability to unwind the reel longitudinally.

For that purpose, the device according to the invention is characterized in that, the surface of the relative flange portion facing the wire parcel, being carried on the reel, has a portion thereof with gradually decreasing radial dimension, this surface portion extending in a direction which is opposite to the longitudinal direction of unwinding. By providing the flange, with a flange surface which decreases in the manner described, it is found that a smaller core diameter can be chosen, while nevertheless a reliable longitudinal unwinding over the circumferential edge of the flange of the supply reels wound with metal wire remains possible. For supply reels which are wound with metal wire and which comprise, according to the invention, a flange portion having a gradually decreasing surface, the ratio of the diameter of the wound core portion adjoining the relative flange portion to the largest flange diameter preferably is more than twenty-five one-hundredths and less than forty-flve one-hundredths It has furthennore been found that the space factor of such a supply reel can even be larger when an embodiment is used which is characterized in that the relative flange portion comprises a first surface which bounds the wire parcel and extends wholly or partly at right angles to the axis of the reel, which surface extends from the largest circumference of the flange portion in the direction of the axis of the reel to a diameter which is in the proportion of six-tenths to seven-tenths of the largest flange diameter, to which surface a gradually decreasing second surface adjoins which extends towards the core portion.

It is to be noted that it is known per se to choose a profiled flange portion for supply reels. These reels which are not intended for use as supply reels for metal wire are not unwound longitudinally; the ratio between the core diameter and the flange diameter in these reels therefore is considerably larger than in the reels according to the invention.

It is furthermore pointed out that it is known per se in ready wound coils, which are suitable as finished products for use in electric apparatus, to use a core having flanges which each have a conical flange portion. However, these reels are not intended to be unwound. The problems associated with the longitudinal unwinding of such reels have not best known.

In order that the invention may be readily carried into effect, it will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a side elevational view schematically showing the device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view which shows a supply reel of known construction from which the wire carried thereon is longitudinally unwound FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view which shows a first embodiment of the reel according to the invention, and

FIG. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views which show a few other examples which can be used in accordance with the choice of the metal wire which is to be unwound from the reels.

The device diagrammatically shown in FIG. 1 comprises a drum 1 which is covered by a conical portion 2. The drum is provided with a baseplate 3 which supports a mandril 4. A reel 5 is fixedly carried on the mandril so that it cannot be displaced with respect to the drum 1. Copper wire having a diameter of, for example, 0.] mm. is wound on the reel 5 to form a wire parcel. An aperture 6 is present in the top of the conical portion 2. A guide 7, a brake 8 and a guide 9 are provided in the vicinity of the opening 6. A wire 10 is unwound from the reel 5 in the so-called longitudinal unwinding manner, when, transported over the guides 7 and 9, it is pulled in the direction of the arrow 11 by means of a winding mechanism (not shown) which may be of a conventional type. This wire 10 is moved as it is unwound, over the entire circumferential edge 12 of the reel 5. At a point in its travel, the wire is exposed to the action of the brake 8.

FIG. 2 shows a supply reel of known construction. It comprises a core portion 13 and two flange portions 14 and 15 between which a metal parcel 16 is situated. In this reel which is to be unwound longitudinally in the direction of the arrow 19 around one of the flange edges, the two flange surfaces facing each other each extend at right angles to the axis 17 of the reel. In order to facilitate the longitudinal unwinding the ratio d/D always has a value of at least 0.5. A frequently used ratio 0.65. The larger said ratio is the smaller the possibility becomes that upon winding a wire will break in the area between the flange across which unwinding takes place and the wire parcel 16.

According to the invention it is of advantage to use supply reels in which only a portion of the inside surface of the flange of the reel, across which unwinding takes place, extends at right angles to the axis 17. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 the surface 21 of the flange has adjoining it a conical flange surface 22. In the supply reel according to this embodiment, which may also have a corresponding conical part on the other flange 23, the dimensions a and D are in the proportion of approximately 65 100. As a result of the presence of the conical surface 22 adjoining the surface 21 it is found that a considerably smaller ratio can be chosen between the core diameter and the flange diameter as compared with the reel shown in FIG. 2. In the reel shown in FIG. 2 this ratio was 65 100, in the reel shown in FIG. 3 the ratio d /D can be reduced to, for example, 30 without danger of breaking the wire during the longitudinal unwinding. The space factor in the reel shown in FIG, 2, namely the volume occupied by the wire material with respect to the total volume between the external flange surfaces 24 and 25, was approximately 30 percent whereas in the reel shown in FIG. 3 this is substantially double, namely approximately 60 percent.

FIGS. 4 and 5 finally show two other examples of metal wire-wound supply reels which are likewise suitable for being unwound longitudinally.

The reel shown in FIG. 4 comprises a smooth flange profile. This reel is also suitable, for example, for thin metal wire of 0.1 millimeter.

The reel shown in FIG. 5 has two reel flanges each comprising a first portion 27 extending at right angles to the axis 26, and a second portion 28 forming a shallow conical surface adjacent the first portion 27 and extending toward the axis 26 from a diameter which is six-tenths to seven-tenths part of the outside flange diameter. This supply reel which is suitable for a very large wire volume, is preferably used for a wire parcel wound with a metal wire which has rather large diameter of, for example, 1 mm. thickness.

What is claimed is:

radial dimension in a direction opposite to the longitudinal direction of unwinding so that the surface of the flange adjacent the wound wire parcel has a conically formed portion extending approximately 60 percentto percent of said radial surface for facilitating the unwinding of said wire, the outside diameter of said core portion being at least 25 percent and no more than 45 percent of the outside diameter of said flange portion. 

1. A device for longitudinally unwinding a metal or partially metal wire from a supply reel comprising a housing having a base member and top member, a mandril mounted on the base of said housing for fixedly supporting said supply reel thereon, said reel having a core portion and at least one flange portion, means for longitudinally removing the wire from said reel over the circumferential edge of said flange, said flange having a surface a portion of which is arranged paralleled to the longitudinal axis of said core and another portion of decreasing radial dimension in a direction opposite to the longitudinal direction of unwinding so that the surface of the flange adjacent the wound wire parcel has a conically formed portion extending approximately 60 percent to 70 percent of said radial surface for facilitating the unwinding of said wire, the outside diameter of said core portion being at least 25 percent and no more than 45 percent of the outside diameter of said flange portion. 